1. Field of the Invention
The invention is in the field of bedsteads with bottoms having receptacles, drawers, and compartments, Class 5, Subclass 308, and the related field of sofa beds, Class 5, Subclass 58.
2. Prior Art
To use the space beneath a bed or a sofa for storage has been an objective shown in the patent literature for more than a hundred years, and in all likelihood, an objective that has been sought for ever since man first raised his bed up from the ground. The space underneath regular-size beds, as distinguished from sofa beds, has been adapted for drawers of various kinds which slide out to the side of the bed, for example U.S. Pat. No. 164,290 to Julia B. French, June 8, 1875. H. A. Scheinerman, U.S. Pat. No. 2,956,290, Oct. 18, 1960, substituted the box spring of a bed with a box and gained access to the box from the head and foot ends by elevating one third sections of the mattress on a platform that was divided in thirds by two transverse sets of hinges, with support for the elevated sections provided by a prop. Sofas which have the cushioned part mounted on the hinged lid of a storage box are represented many times in the patent literature. U.S. Pat. No. 984,685 to J. Luppino, Feb. 21, 1911, for example, shows such a box couch with a coil spring counterweighted hinged lid.
The success of the instant invention is due to the remarkable application of a relatively new hardware item, the so-called "gas spring." The application of gas springs most familiar to our contemporaries is the device found on our "hatchback" automobiles to assist in raising the hatch door. In the literature of the manufacturers of gas springs may be seen a variety of suggested applications for gas springs, including their use as adjuncts in hospital beds to permit comfort adjustments. Nowhere, to my knowledge or study, has the gas spring ever before been applied as I have used it, to permit the easy raising and lowering of a regular-size bed assembly complete with mattress, springs, and bedding, for access to the voluminous space beneath the bed.